Gonzales Pitcher of the Year; Four On All-WCC Team

Courtesy: Gonzaga Athletics

Release: 05/30/2012

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SAN BRUNO, Calif. - After being named both West Coast Conference Co-Player of the Year and Co-Freshman of the Year a season ago, Gonzaga University baseball sophomore Marco Gonzales was named this year's WCC Pitcher of the Year and was selected to the 25-man All-WCC team along with seniors Royce Bolinger, Alex Stanford and junior Clayton Eslick, as announced by the league office Wednesday.

Pepperdine University head coach Steve Rodriguez was tabbed Coach of the Year by his colleagues after guiding his ballclub to the WCC championship. His junior infielders, Joe Sever and Zach Vincej, were selected Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, respectively, while the University of Portland's left-handed pitcher Travis Radke took home Freshman of the Year.

The selections were made by a vote by the nine WCC coaches, but they could not vote for their own players.

Gonzales becomes the fourth pitcher in GU history to achieve WCC Pitcher of the Year honors, joining Ryan Carpenter (2011), Matt Fields (2009) and Clayton Mortensen (2007). The Fort Collins, Colo., native made six starts on the mound during WCC play, going 4-1 with a 1.51 ERA and 53 strikeouts. Conference opponents were hitting .182 against Gonzales, who surrendered 29 hits and nine earned runs in 47 2/3 innings pitched. Overall, he started 42 of 43 appearances, including 12 on the mound. As a pitcher, he went 8-2 and compiled a 1.55 ERA, which ranks 15th-best in the nation. In addition to throwing three complete-games this season, he also fanned 92 batters and walked 23 in 92 2/3 innings of work.

The left-hander was also asked to pitch and hit in a game seven times this season. On days when he is doing both pitching and hitting, Gonzales is 7-for-27 with four runs, a pair of two-baggers and four RBI at the plate and on the mound he is 4-2 with a 1.36 ERA. He's tossed 59 2/3 innings and has 60 strikeouts.

Bolinger, an outfielder from Scottsdale, Ariz., garnered his first All-WCC accolade was a proven leader for the Bulldogs after leading the team in nearly every statistical category this season. Bolinger started all 56 games this season, leading the WCC in batting average (.392) while finishing in the top in slugging percentage (.620), on-base percentage (.441), runs scored (46) and RBI (93). In conference play, he hit .369 with five doubles, a triple and six home runs. He also scored 18 runs while driving in 26, which tied two opponents for the most in the conference. He also ranked in the top five in the WCC in hits (38) and home runs.

Eslick earned his first post-season accolade since being selected to the 2010 All-WCC Freshman team. A left-handed hitter, Eslick appeared in 55 games throughout the year, batting .340 with nine doubles, two triple-baggers and two homers. He also scored 41 runs while driving in 23. During the conference season, The Gilroy, Calif., native carried a .360 batting average with six doubles and two home runs during conference play. He led the team in runs scored (22) and finished second in the WCC in on-base percentage (.495).

Stanford, a second baseman from Bothell, Wash., exits his two-year career at GU with his first All-WCC accolade. He made 47 of 51 appearances this season, hitting .309 with a dozen doubles, three triples and a pair of homers. He scored 29 runs and drove in 31 runs, which ranked second most on the team. He also finished second on the team in stolen bags with eight. He was a major contributor during conference play, batting .341 with eight two-baggers, a home run and 22 RBI. He eight doubles ranked in the top five in the conference while his runs driven in ranked sixth.

Halcomb, who is also a member of the 2010 All-WCC Freshman team, started all 56 games at shortstop this season, hitting .297 with eight doubles and a home run. He drove in 30 runs while scoring 32 times. He stole four bags in five attempts. He started to get hot during the end of conference play as he compiled a .337 batting average with five doubles and 11 RBI.

A member of the weekend rotation, Olson earned his first WCC post-season accolade having not missed a start all season. He started all 15 appearances and has compiled a 5-4 record with a 2.77 ERA. In addition to recording four complete-games, he threw a total of 110 1/3 frames which placed him second for the most in the WCC behind the University of Portland's Kyle Kraus' 111. He also finished in the top five in strikeouts with 90.